As India anticipates the Union Budget for July 2024, Rajneesh Bhandari, Founder of NeuroEquilibrium, has highlighted crucial steps needed to achieve Aatma Nirbharta, or self-reliance, in the medical devices sector. His insights shed light on the burgeoning MedTech market and the challenges that must be addressed to foster innovation and growth.

Bhandari notes that the medical device market in India, currently valued at USD 11 billion, is set to soar to USD 50 billion by 2025. Despite this promising growth, over 80% of the market still relies on imports due to limited local manufacturing. "However, this trend is shifting as India emerges as a hub for MedTech innovation, with local innovators developing groundbreaking medical products and solutions,” he said. “India's HealthTech/MedTech ecosystem is at an inflection point, experiencing rapid expansion.”

He emphasised that MedTech startups in India face significant challenges in their early stages, particularly in clinical trials and validation. Bhandari pointed out that since the government is the largest healthcare provider in India, facilitating early validation of MedTech devices and services could significantly accelerate the development and deployment of new healthcare technologies.

Acquiring the initial set of customers is another challenge for these startups. Bhandari argued that there should be a mechanism for the government to become an early adopter of innovative products and services. Unfortunately, current procurement policies, which require a minimum of three participants in a tender and prioritize L1 procurement, do not support the procurement of innovative products. Truly innovative products with unique intellectual property often lack the three participants needed for a tender, hindering their adoption.

Bhandari also highlighted the development and large-scale adoption of AI in healthcare as a critical area needing attention. AI has the potential to transform healthcare by reducing costs and making modern care accessible and affordable. For AI startups to thrive, they need access to large amounts of anonymized data. As the largest healthcare provider, the public healthcare system generates the most data, and the government should create a platform to provide anonymized data to support AI development in healthcare.

He asserted that India has all the essential ingredients for exponential growth in HealthTech and MedTech. These include a large population, a robust pharma and medical supply chain, 750 million smartphone users, the third-largest startup pool globally, easy access to VC funding, and innovative tech entrepreneurs. Consequently, Indian startups are well-positioned to lead the next wave of global healthcare innovations.